Method and equipment for the disassembly of matresses

Abstract

An apparatus to disassemble a mattress, the mattress including a mattress core between a top ticking and a bottom ticking and the mattress having perimeter surfaces comprising a pair of opposing side surfaces extending in a longitudinal direction and a pair of opposing end surfaces extending between the opposing side surfaces, the apparatus including: a cutting arrangement for applying at least one cut along a length of at least one of the perimeter surfaces; and at least one peeling roller having a peeling surface with retractable pins for engaging with the top and/or bottom ticking, the retractable pins being movable between a retracted position and an extended position, wherein the at least one peeling roller is rotatable in a peeling direction for peeling the top and/or bottom ticking from the mattress with the pins in the extended position and wherein the at least one peeling roller is rotatable in a removal direction, opposite to the peeling direction, for removing the peeled ticking from the peeling surface with the pins in the retracted position.

1 . An apparatus to disassemble a mattress, the mattress including a mattress core between a top ticking and a bottom ticking and the mattress having perimeter surfaces comprising a pair of opposing side surfaces extending in a longitudinal direction and a pair of opposing end surfaces extending between the opposing side surfaces, the apparatus including:
 a cutting arrangement for applying at least one cut along a length of at least one of the perimeter surfaces; and   at least one peeling roller having a peeling surface with retractable pins for engaging with the top and/or bottom ticking, the retractable pins being movable between a retracted position and an extended position   
       wherein the at least one peeling roller is rotatable in a peeling direction for peeling the top and/or bottom ticking from the mattress with the pins in the extended position and wherein the at least one peeling roller is rotatable in a removal direction, opposite to the peeling direction, for removing the peeled ticking from the peeling surface with the pins in the retracted position. 
     
     
         2 . An apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the peeling roller includes a plurality of pin actuators to actuate movement of the pins between the extended and retracted positions, each pin actuator being associated with at least one pin. 
     
     
         3 . An apparatus according to  claim 2  wherein the plurality of pin actuators are independently operable to facilitate movement of pins on a section of the peeling surface that is independent from movement of pins on a separate section of the peeling surface. 
     
     
         4 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , including a top peeling roller for removing the top ticking of the mattress and a bottom peeling roller for removing the bottom ticking of the mattress, the bottom peeling roller including a plurality of independently operable pin actuators facilitating movement of pins on a section of the bottom roller peeling surface that is independent from movement of the pins on a separate section of the bottom peeling roller peeling surface. 
     
     
         5 . An apparatus according to  claim 4  wherein each of the top and bottom peeling rollers are rotatable in a peeling direction for peeling the top and bottom ticking from the mattress respectively, the top peeling roller being rotatable in a removal direction opposite to the peeling direction for removing the peeled ticking from the top peeling roller peeling surface with the top roller pins in the retracted position and wherein the independent pin movement of the bottom roller facilitates the bottom peeling roller and the bottom ticking engaging at a first section of the bottom peeling roller peeling surface and concurrently disengaging at a second section of the bottom peeling roller peeling surface. 
     
     
         6 . An apparatus according to  claim 5  wherein the pins on the bottom peeling roller are configured to extend on one side of the bottom peeling roller and to concurrently retract at approximately the opposite side of the bottom peeling roller. 
     
     
         7 . An apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the cutting arrangement includes a saw having a plurality of cutting elements. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus according to  claim 5  wherein the plurality of cutting elements are axially spaced apart. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus according to  claim 7  wherein the saw includes a rotatable axle and wherein the cutting elements are cutting blades mounted to the rotatable axle. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus according to  claim 5  including a pair of saws arranged to cooperatively apply a cut along a length of the at least one perimeter surface. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the position of the at least one peeling roller is adjustable and wherein the apparatus includes a sensor and a controllable actuator to adjust the position of the at least one peeling roller into an engagement position based on the position and/or dimensions of the mattress determined by the sensor. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus according to  claim 11  wherein the sensor is an ultrasonic distance sensor. 
     
     
         13 . A method of disassembling a mattress, the mattress including a mattress core between a top ticking and a bottom ticking and the mattress having a perimeter comprising a pair of opposing side surfaces extending in a longitudinal direction and a pair of opposing end surfaces extending between the opposing side surfaces, the method including:
 applying at least one cut along a length of at least one of the perimeter surfaces;   feeding the mattress, in a cut-first orientation, into at least one rotating peeling roller, the at least one peeling roller having a peeling surface with retractable pins movable between a retracted position and an extended position;   moving the pins of the at least one peeling roller to their extended position during the feeding of the mattress into the at least one peeling roller to engage and remove at least one of the top or bottom ticking of the mattress; and   moving the pins of the at least one peeling roller to their retracted position and reversing the direction of rotation of the at least one peeling roller to disengage the ticking from the at least one peeling roller for subsequent removal.   
     
     
         14 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein the mattress is fed between a top peeling roller and a bottom peeling roller to remove the top and bottom ticking of a mattress respectively. 
     
     
         15 . A method according to  claim 14  wherein during rotation of the bottom peeling roller, the movement of pins toward a retracted or an extended position occurs separately on a first section of the bottom roller peeling surface from the movement of the pins on a second section of the bottom roller peeling surface. 
     
     
         16 . A method according to  claim 14 , including the steps of: moving a longitudinal row of pins on the bottom peeling to engage with a portion of the bottom ticking; rotating the bottom roller in a peeling direction to peel the portion of bottom ticking from the mattress core; moving the longitudinal row of pins to their retracted position to disengage with the portion of the bottom ticking. 
     
     
         17 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein during feeding of the mattress, at least some of the pins are moved so as to extend partially between their retracted position and their extended position. 
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein the at least one cut is applied by a cutting arrangement, the method further including the steps of:
 using a sensor to determine the position and/or dimensions of the mattress; and   adjusting the position of the at least one peeling roller and/or the position of the cutting arrangement based on the determined position and/or dimensions of the mattress.   
     
     
         19 . A method of disassembling a mattress, the mattress including a mattress core between a top ticking and a bottom ticking and the mattress having a perimeter comprising a pair of opposing side surfaces extending in a longitudinal direction and a pair of opposing end surfaces extending between the opposing side surfaces, the method including:
 applying at least one cut along a length of at least one of the perimeter surfaces;   feeding the mattress, in a cut-first orientation, between a pair of top and bottom rotating peeling rollers, the peeling rollers each having a peeling surface with retractable pins movable between a retracted position and an extended position;   moving the pins of the top roller to their extended position to engage and remove the top ticking of the mattress, the top ticking being subsequently wound about the top roller;   executing a pin movement sequence in the pins of the bottom roller wherein a row of pins of the bottom roller move to their extended position prior to contact with the bottom ticking, to engage and remove a portion of the bottom ticking and wherein the row of pins subsequently return to their retracted position after contact and peeling of the ticking portion to permit disengagement between the bottom roller and the ticking portion and facilitate the deposit of the bottom ticking beneath the bottom roller; and   moving the pins of the top peeling roller to their retracted position and reversing the direction of the top roller to disengage and unwind the top ticking from the top roller.   
     
     
         20 . A method according to  claim 19 , including the step of maintaining the rotation and pin movement sequence of the bottom roller during disengagement of the top ticking to facilitate engagement between the top ticking and the bottom roller and to deposit the top ticking beneath the bottom roller.